The more I become involved with hydroponics, the more I personally experience the social stigma surrounding it. Last weekend, for example, I was returning to college after visiting my family for Thanksgiving. Halfway into my drive, I was pulled over by a state trooper. Fair enough, the lights for my license plate were apparently out. Having no criminal record and being pulled over for the burnt out light exclusively, the stop should haven taken maybe ten minutes. After the trooper noticed a copy of Hydroponic Food Production by Howard Resh, Ph.D., on the floor of my car, things took a turn for the bizarre.
The trooper began by asking standard questions; where I was coming from, where I was going and if I had anything illegal in my car. Explaining my trip for Thanksgiving and that I wasn’t involved with anything illegal, the trooper next asked if he could search through my car. Making clear that I wouldn’t consent to any searches and he would need a warrant for something like that, the trooper was not amused. In truth, there wasn’t anything illegal in my car. My refusal was simply out of principle.
The trooper then threatened that if he wasn’t allowed to search my car, he would hold me until a drug dog could arrive. The trooper was certain that the dog would find something and, at that point, I would be in serious trouble. Knowing that there was nothing in my car to find and not wanting to be coerced into waiving my Fourth Amendment rights, I restated I wasn’t going to let anyone search anything.
Asking what reasons he could have for detaining me, the trooper pointed out two of what he considered “red flags.” First is that I was nervous. In response to that, I asked how frequently the trooper had pulled over someone that had done nothing wrong, but was uncomfortable nonetheless. His response? Seldom, not often.
Yeah right…
Secondly, the textbook Hydroponic Food Production was on the floor of my car. I had already been stopped for about twenty minutes. During that time the trooper complained about the ACLU, that it was cold outside, illegal immigrants, how much money engineers make, Arabs, that his boss would be mad if there wasn’t anything illegal in my car and described how the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program was a good thing for the country. In spite of this, I was genuinely surprised when he said “You have a book on the floor, Hydroponic Food Production.” Not just that I had a book about hydroponics, but a 568 page university textbook about producing food commercially with hydroponics. This was after I mentioned being a plant biology student. Next to that was a biostatistics textbook. Hearing him read the full title, it was simply ridiculous. I didn’t challenge him about the book, since I expected a response to the effect that it could potentially be used for something illegal. This weak argument could be brought against virtually any science book. Soil biology? Physical chemistry? Doesn’t matter.
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Long story short, the drug dog falsely hit on my car and I stood outside while my car was searched for ten or fifteen minutes. Eventually the deputies and the troopers gave up on their search. Whether or not they genuinely believed what I had been saying from the beginning, or felt that something was hidden and they were just unable to find it, I have no idea. Shortly later I was on my way again with only a ticket for my license plate light and an interesting story to share.
The point of my sharing this story is not about police power, the Fourth Amendment or the wisdom of certain substances being classified as illegal versus legal. This is about how, in spite of a large volume of research being published regarding hydroponics, somehow the burden still remains on the shoulders’ of many scientists or commercial growers to demonstrate that the aren’t collaborating with something illegal. I say that burden of proof should remain on those who assert the converse is true. Hydroponics has been used extensively for research in fields such as plant nutrition, bioremediation, plant pathology and biochemistry. It’s regrettably common to describe my research interests and what I do at college, only to receive giggles or funny looks because I mention hydroponics. It just happens. This traffic stop was effectively the same thing, only with the addition of being illegally searched for it. Moral of the story? Keep university textbooks and scientific equipment out of plain view in a car. People are afraid of what they don’t understand.
Ha!
Good for you for holding out on that.
I was thinking the same thing with the purple LED light s radiating out of my enclosed porch window. Think They’ll soon be bustin down the door for a few tomatoes.